War Horse

Fictional Albert Narracott - a Devonshire boy - lives with his parents in a farmhouse near the village of Sheepstor (at least, in the film version of the story).  Named after the nearby Tor - a hilly or rocky outcrop - known as "Sheeps Tor," the village has less than 100 residents and is located in Dartmoor National Park.

Free to roam around, Albie - as he's called by his friends - is an only child.  His parents - Ted and Rose Narracott - work hard to earn a living on their rented property.  Their way of life, in the spring of 1914, is typical for people who farm rented land.

Other boys from Devonshire - or "Devon," as it's called locally - also help with chores on their owned (or rented) family farms.  They live nearby in small Dartmoor villages, or towns, such as:

• Meavy

• Dartmoor

• Burrator Reservoir

• Buckland-in-the-Moor

• Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Dartmoor's countryside provides some freedom for children when their work is finished.  Long before the days of television, the Internet, video games - and even radio - the boys of Devon spend much of their free time outside.

Horses are part of life's fun, not just part of life's work, and Dartmoor has some interesting species:

• Dartmoor Ponies are gentle creatures;

• Young Dartmoor foals stay close to their mothers;

• Dartmoor Ponies are small;

• In contrast, a Shire horse is large;

• Averaging 17 hands, a male Shire horse can easily pull a plow.

Albie's father - Ted Narracott - worries about much more than paying his family's bills.  What will happen if war erupts in the aftermath of Franz Ferdinand's assassination? 

Having served as a sergeant in South Africa's Boer War, Narracott has firsthand experience about war's horrors.  He also knows that sustained fighting can break a man's spirit.   

ISSUES and QUESTIONS to PONDER:  Albert Narracott and his friends had to help their parents run the family farms.  Is that way of life suitable for children in today's world?  Why or why not? 

When children have no access to television, radio, video games and the Internet, do you think that helps or harms their ability to invent their own forms of recreation?